Q & A with Mike Van Diem

Mike
Van Diem won an Oscar for his debut feature film entitled “Character” back in
1997. This was in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 70th Academy
Awards. And in that same year, “Character” was also presented in the “Critics
Week” section of the 32nd Cannes Film Festival. Despite many offers from
Hollywood, he decided to stay in the Netherlands to direct several commercials.
THE SURPRISE will be his return to the big screen. Shot in Germany, Ireland,
and Belgium, THE SURPRISE will feature three spoken languages: English, Dutch,
and Hindi.

From
winning an Academy Award for your debut film and taking so long to make a next
one. Fear of failure?

No,
not as far as I know. I got many offers from Hollywood. The first few years
after winning the Academy Award I was asked to come to Los Angeles many times.
Looking back on it, it’s not that surprising. You win an Academy Award because
you’ve made a special, original and authentic film and Hollywood isn’t that
interested in those films. It’s like receiving a Michelin Star and being asked
to grill burgers.

I
have been working on several projects for a short time and was hoping to make
it more personal and push it to a higher level. In the end only the thriller
SPY GAME could be seen on the big screen, after endless postponement and
disagreement, but then I had already left. Meanwhile, I got several jobs in the
Netherlands as a director of commercials. The financial need to make another
feature film was missing and I started to lose interest in feature films. I
hardly saw any films anymore, while I used to watch them all the time. That was
a sign. Although the people around me told me I was obliged to my talent, I
felt I had lost the spirit. It wasn’t easy to acknowledge that and it took some
time before I was at peace with it. But ultimately, this resignation made the
fire blaze again a couple of years ago. I thought: “I’m finally going to make
THE SURRISE.”

Finally?

In
1990 someone told me about the short story DE SURPRISE by Dutch writer
Belcampo, about a man and a woman who both wish to leave this world. But when
they meet, they fall in love and want to get out of the deal, which cannot be
done so easily. The idea is: only when facing death, you live life to the
fullest and everyone should live their life like it’s their last day on earth.
I thought this was a strong, universal story that I, as a writer/director,
could adapt and personalise. To make a long story short: THE SURPRISE would be
my first feature film. But the timing was very unfortunate. Belcampo had just
died and his heirs had too much on their mind to think about filming rights. I
had just graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy and wasn’t that
experienced. Due to mutual lack of decisiveness I didn’t got the filming
rights. But when I contacted Belcampo’s daughter a few years ago, she
recognised me immediately and was enthusiastic about making a film of
Belcampo’s story.

After CHARACTER, you didn’t expect you to write
and direct a romantic comedy, right?

Perhaps
not in that order, but THE SURPRISE and CHARACTER have more in common than you
might think. Not only thematically, but also when you look at the design: again
quite grand, real cinema, while the story is again timeless and universal.
Besides that, THE SURPRISE isn’t a dime a dozen, like other romantic comedies.
The film is very entertaining and romantic, but doesn’t fit in your average
romcom list.

Casting
actor Jeroen van Koningsbrugge as the main character, who is ultimately funny
but also dead serious, is quite remarkable. Why him?

While
writing the script some aspects of Jeroen’s role reminded me of Peter Sellers
in BEING THERE and Jim Carrey in THE TRUMAN SHOW. Not only the eccentricity of
the character, but also the tragic loneliness combined with a very friendly,
almost childlike openness. This was something Robin Williams could also play
very well. I thought that perhaps I needed a comedian to play the lead instead
of a ‘normal’ actor. I had seen Jeroen in the Dutch television show Draadstaal
where he had played some moving scenes with the exact childlike innocence I was
looking for. He became my one and only choice. Without him I wouldn’t have made
the film. Luckily he was very enthusiastic and also accepted my only demand: he
needed to lose at least twelve and a half kilo’s. In the end he managed to lose
seventeen. He was extremely disciplined.

Why
did he need to lose so many kilo’s?

I
mainly knew Jeroen from Draadstaal, but I realised that most people in the
Netherlands knew him from Ikhou van Holland, a big Dutch TV show airing on
Saturday night. In this program he is mostly a sociable and Burgundian guy who
keeps the party alive. That image contradicted with his credibility as Jacob in
THE SURPRISE. Of course, Jeroen is a very skilled actor and will make you
forget about this other image instantly, but losing the weight combined with
his clothing and the international setting gave him some extra support.

How
did you cast Georgina Verbaan?

That
wasn’t so hard. There are very few good female comedians in the Netherlands and
even less that could play a female lead. For the role of Anne we only invited a
handful of actresses. We did some screen tests and raised the bar higher and
higher every time. In the end, Georgina was the overall winner and I’m sure
that none of the other actresses envy her for this victory. When you watch the
film it seems like this role has been written especially for her. One day
before the principal shooting of THE SURPRISE, Dutch comedian Claudia de Breij
praised Georgina’s acting skills in the Dutch television show De WereldDraait
Door and said that Georgina deserved a great project where she could use all of
her talents. THE SURPRISE could be that project. And now I have finished the
film, I’m absolutely sure of it. Georgina plays a lovely, versatile role and
has excellent chemistry with Jeroen.

And
Jan Decleir?

Jan,
who played the lead in CHARATER, wasn’t supposed to be in THE SURPRISE. Jeroen
plays a multimillionaire with an enormous estate and initially I had written
the part of a butler in the story, the only person Jacob could talk to. I
started casting but couldn’t find an actor with the charisma to make the role
of the butler work. Jan has the charisma, but isn’t the butler type of guy. So
I rewrote the part of the butler and made him a gardener, which suited Jan
better. Jan and Jeroen immediately connected during the first read of the
script and their chemistry is visible on screen. Jan also connected so well
with Georgina. Jan really enjoyed making this film and we surely enjoyed
working with him.

Back
to the beginning: if you hadn’t won an Academy Award, would you have made more
films?

Who
knows? Perhaps for financial reasons, if my job as a director of commercials
hadn’t gone so well. But economic necessity isn’t a strong motive for making a
good film. I have learned a lot in the meantime and lived rather happily.

So,
no regrets about winning the Academy Award?

Ask
an ice skater if he regrets winning a medal and he will say no. It’s an amazing
experience that I can recommend to everyone. Youmight think that every advance
has its disadvantage, but I wouldn’t say that. Except everyone keeps nagging
about when you’re going to make your next film. But that’s a prize I’m willing
to pay.